Audubon’s Final Achievement ~ "The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America"

Written by Quincy Salinger Sunday, 07 February 2010 23:31

AUBURN, AL.- Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art announces that the Louise Hauss and Davis Brent Miller Audubon Gallery will be closed for renovation February 15 through March 26 to allow for an upgrade of the lighting system. We are installing new track lights that will provide more flexibility in illumination of the exhibitions and ensure better control over light levels and UV filtering to further safeguard the collections. We apologize for the inconvenience, but think you’ll be delighted with what you see at the grand reopening of the galleries -- an exhibition based on one of JCSM’s Audubon treasures, never before exhibited at the museum. On view 27 March through 3 July, 2010.

The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.
Early in the 1840s John James Audubon (1785-1851) decided to collaborate with his long-time friend, the Rev. John Bachman (1790-1874) of Charleston, South Carolina, to produce a folio edition of all the four-legged land mammals of North America.  Bachman supplied much of the scientific knowledge to identify and name the mammals, and with the assistance of his wife, Maria Martin (1796-1863), produced a companion text for each of the three volumes of the publication. 

Audubon’s sons, John Woodhouse (1812-1862) and Victor (1809-1860), supplied many of the original drawings of the mammals and backgrounds, and managed the business affairs of the project. The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America was published in three volumes of 50 plates each between 1845 and 1848.  Printer J.T. Bowen of Philadelphia produced the stone lithographs, which were hand finished by watercolorists. About 300 sets were produced.

Of those completed sets, many were doubtless taken apart so the individual pages could be displayed or sold.  There is no official count of how many bound volumes exist today, but JCSM is fortunate to have in The Louise Hauss and Davis Brent Miller Audubon Collection an exceptionally fine, complete set of the bound first edition of  The Quadrupeds.  March 27 JCSM will reopen the Audubon galleries with the first of two exhibitions based on The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.

Visit The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at : http://jcsm.auburn.edu/index.php